


best friend

by izukillme



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, M/M, characters tagged in order of appearance, hyuuga is very very soft in this, riko is wise, riko knows everything, the aida is omnipotent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22845514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izukillme/pseuds/izukillme
Summary: Who does Hyuuga Junpei consider his best friend?
Relationships: Aida Riko & Fukuda Hiroshi & Furihata Kouki & Kagami Taiga & Kawahara Kouichi & Kuroko Tetsuya, Fukuda Hiroshi & Furihata Kouki & Kagami Taiga & Kawahara Kouichi & Kuroko Tetsuya, Furihata Kouki & Izuki Shun, Hyuuga Junpei & Izuki Shun, Hyuuga Junpei & Kiyoshi Teppei, Hyuuga Junpei/Izuki Shun
Kudos: 19





	best friend

**Author's Note:**

> The last bit is inspired by the song 'Best Friend' by Jason Chen. It's kinda cliche, but it's sweet as hell - and is so descriptive of a certain relationship xP

If you were to ask Kuroko who Hyuuga-senpai’s best friend was, he would respond without blinking, “Kiyoshi-senpai.”

It was the natural conclusion, at any rate. Hyuuga and Kiyoshi bickered so much, yet they had a connection that was stronger than those between the other second-years. They were the two pillars of Seirin, and easily depended on each other, falling into a natural rhythm as if they had been born to it. 

Who else but Kiyoshi-senpai had stood so strongly by Hyuuga-senpai? It had been Kiyoshi who got Hyuuga back into basketball, and Hyuuga who stood by Kiyoshi throughout his injury. They were a pair along the same lines as Kuroko and Kagami were - the rest of the first-years agreed on this.

That is, all of them except Furihata, who just gave a taunting smile and leaned against the wall when asked his opinion. (Kuroko thought he had been spending too much time around Izuki-senpai and his devious ways, but oh well.)

“I think it’s obvious,” was all Furi would say, despite repeated pressure from everyone. Kagami and Fukuda eventually gave up, deciding that Furihata wouldn’t crack, and that it was probably Kiyoshi he was thinking of anyways. Kawahara and Kuroko stuck at it longer, but they also threw in the towel after two long months of pestering Furi. 

The question, however, never disappeared from their minds. Who _was_ Hyuuga-senpai’s best friend? The first-years were sure that it was Kiyoshi, but it was better to ask and confirm, right?

So after practice one day, they went to the person who always had all the answers to their questions. The neverending fountain of ageless wisdom, the cleverest person they knew: Aida Riko. Surely Riko would know who Hyuuga’s best friend was.

* * *

When asked the question to end all other questions, Aida Riko simply tilted her head and smiled mysteriously at her boys.

“Who do _you_ think it is?” she asked. 

Kuroko wanted to slam his head into a wall at the non-answer. Nevertheless, he calmly responded, “Kiyoshi-senpai.”

Riko’s mouth twitched up at the corners and her lips flattened in a curious manner. Her shoulders trembled gently as she answered, voice wavering, “Oh. Well… ask Hyuuga-senpai himself, yeah? Better to get the knowledge from the source.”

The first-years stared at her in consternation.

“But you would know!” burst out Kagami. “It _is_ Kiyoshi-senpai, right? Just confirm it!”

“Sure, yeah,” Riko said, voice shaking further. Her lips were barely a line now and she was bent over double, whole body quivering like a leaf. “Go ask H - Hyuuga!”

“That’s not an answer!” shouted the first-years angrily. 

“Sure it is,” Furihata said with a small grin. “It’s just not the answer you want.”

“You-” Kuroko pointed at him, tone blank, “are spending too much time with Izuki-senpai.”

Furihata shrugged. “What can I say? He’s a good teacher.” A smirk blossomed on his lips as he continued, “As Coach instructs, let’s go ask the source!” 

And all too chipper, he skipped off towards the gym, where Hyuuga and Izuki were wrapping up the equipment from the day’s practice. The others followed, exchanging dubious glances at Furi’s new confidence.

_This can mean nothing good for us._

* * *

Hyuuga and Izuki stared at their juniors with more than a little shock at seeing them back in the gym _after_ practice. Usually they would be out of there in a blink, leaving the two leaders of the team to clean up the gym and, in their captain’s case, grouse about how lazy their juniors were.

“Here to help us tidy up for once?” quipped Hyuuga, face both authoritative and amused at once. “Well, get to it!”

“...Not exactly,” Kawahara was the first to speak, blushing as he did. “We… had a question for you.” Kuroko cringed inwardly at how awkward his friend sounded. 

“If this involves how babies are made, your parents are supposed to do that. Not us. And by the way, you’re sixteen, so you should at least know how it works,” Izuki interjected from where he was mopping at a spot on the floor. 

Kagami’s face turned bright red, and he yelled, “It’s _not_ that! Of course we know how it works!”

Kagami did not, in fact, know how babies were made. Kuroko knew this because… well… he just knew it, okay?!

(Okay. So _maybe_ he had tried to flirt with Kagami and it hadn’t worked. Shut up. Kuroko was a charmer. It’s not his fault he fell for dumbasses all. The. Time.)

“It was a question for Hyuuga-senpai, actually,” Fukuda said bravely, clearly gathering up all his guts. 

Hyuuga raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Go on. But I swear if you ask me about my dick size…”

“No!” Kuroko answered hastily before Kagami could open his mouth. “No… we wanted to know who you consider your best friend.”

Hyuuga’s lips twitched. “Interesting. I suppose you thought it was Kiyoshi?”

Kuroko blushed at how easily Hyuuga saw through him. “Yes,” he admitted, looking at the floor.

“Don’t count me in this idiocy. I have my eyes wide open,” said Furihata quickly, stepping away from the group of first-years and making eye contact with Izuki, who barked a laugh. 

“Well, you’re wrong.” Hyuuga replied, going back to putting the balls in the crate. “It’s true that Kiyoshi and I are pretty close, but I have a friend who goes _way_ back. Farther back than anyone else on this team.”

“Care to share his name, senpai?” Kagami inquired dryly.

Hyuuga laughed. “I’ll tell you about him. It’ll be obvious by the end.”

And without further delay, he started his story.

“He and I have been very close for a really long time. It started in this little park, when we were barely three years old. At the time I was quiet and shy, and didn’t like talking to people at all; but this guy walks straight up to me, introducing himself with a big grin, and drags me off to play with him without so much as a please or thank you.” A nostalgic smile appeared on Hyuuga’s face as he reminisced, “We spent nearly three hours playing that day. I remember having so much fun, I clung to him and started crying when we had to part. Our moms exchanged numbers and after that, there was no looking back; it turned out we lived in the same neighbourhood, so we played every day. I swear, I knew his house better than my own sometimes,”

“Sounds like this guy was a really nice guy,” Izuki put in, grinning. “I’d like to meet him someday.”

“Shut up,” Hyuuga retorted and went on, “Anyways, we grew up together, and in the second grade he started playing basketball. I followed him into it soon after because I was jealous of the fact that he was getting closer to his basketball teammates,” - a snort from Izuki - “and I fell in love with the sport like nothing else. It just served to bring us closer together… until our third year of middle school. I…” It was clearly painful for him to talk about. 

“You can stop if you like, senpai, there’s no need for us to know the full story,” Fukuda said with panic in his voice.

Hyuuga shook his head. “No, no… I’ll finish. Otherwise this one will badger me all the way home about it,” he jerked a hand towards Izuki, who laughed. 

“I’m just a bit of a curious cat. Can’t blame me for it, can you?” 

Hyuuga rolled his eyes and continued, sobering up, “You know the story. Those losses in middle school crippled me from basketball. I… said some very hurtful things to the guy, a person who had been nothing but supportive, kind and protective. I told him that he was useless and annoying, that he should just let me be alone…

But even then, he didn’t leave me. He knew I was angry and spitting nonsense, and chewed me out for it later on when I was back in my senses. He gave me the space I needed, and never forced me to return to basketball - he knew that giving me time would help me heal. He knew my intense love for basketball would always win out, and trusted in it.” He smiled softly. “Of course, Kiyoshi’s influence in dragging me back was a major part of it. But my best friend’s role was equally large - and equally helpful.”

“What do you think of him as a person?” Kuroko asked quietly. This was no longer about a name of Hyuuga-senpai’s best friend; a person who had impacted his life in such a deep way was truly someone to be admired, and Kuroko wanted to hear all the opinions that Hyuuga had of this guy.

“Him?” Hyuuga laughed lightly. “Well. He can be really fucking _annoying_ \- but I guess I like it. He wouldn’t be him without it, so… yeah. He’s friendly, kind, smart as all hell, calm and relaxed, and has this razor-sharp tongue that… seriously, the roasts he comes up with are genius. He can be spacey and air-headed at times but I can deal with it by bonking him over the head. He just… he tries to be a good person rather than good _at_ something.” The captain’s face was slightly red as he spoke with passion and fervour. 

“He’s pretty popular with girls but they all run away once he opens his mouth. But… they don’t know who he truly is. They don’t look past the puns and-” 

“Wait. _Puns_?” Fukuda asked with incredulity.

Hyuuga gulped, looking at Izuki, who was in splits.

“I, um,” he cleared his throat. “Fuck?”

“Yeah!” Izuki chuckled, walking over and slinging an arm over Hyuuga’s shoulder. “I’m the oh-so-awesome guy who has the title of Hyuuga’s best friend. I think I deserve a Nobel Prize for putting up with all his shit, you know? But...” A soft smile was on his face as he looked at Hyuuga. “I wouldn’t trade him for anything. He’s an idiot, but he’s _my_ idiot, you know?”

“That’s _my_ line,” Hyuuga rebuked, but there was no real heat in his words. 

“Called it!” Furihata whooped loudly. “I _knew_ it wasn’t Kiyoshi-senpai! No matter how close you guys are, there’s something else between you and Izuki-senpai. You’re the only one that can make him angry - well, you and Coach, but semantics. You know how to get him serious and he knows how to cool you down. It’s like you two were _made_ for each other.”

At that, strange blushes came onto both the faces of captain and vice-captain.

Izuki was the first to speak, clearing his throat. “I think you should go now. We’ll take care of this.” 

Hyuuga nodded. “Scram, kids!” His authoritative face was back, and the first-years scattered under it, running for the door.

As they did, Furihata smirked smugly.

“I _told_ you.” he snickered.

Kuroko sighed. “Not in so many words, but you did, Furihata-kun. And in retrospect, it’s obvious. The way only Hyuuga-senpai knows how to push Izuki-senpai’s buttons. The way Izuki-senpai can calm Hyuuga-senpai when he gets too heated up. The way they walk and talk… it’s like they _are_ each other.”

“Like an old married couple,” Fukuda commented.

At once, four heads turned to him in shock. 

Then Furihata whispered, “Do you think…”

The first-years shared frightened glances. They didn’t _want_ to think about it. No, sir, that was a mystery best left alone.

* * *

“You didn’t tell one part of the story.” 

Hyuuga glanced up at Izuki, who was putting away the nets. His shirt hiked up, exposing the smooth skin of his muscular abdomen, and Hyuuga’s eyes lingered for a few seconds before he asked, “What?”

“You know,” Izuki grinned suddenly, picking his bag up and making his way over to Hyuuga. He traced his fingers over Hyuuga’s chest. “The part where they win the Winter Cup together, and then the captain realises he’s fallen in love with his dashing best friend.”

“Right. Dashing.” Hyuuga snorted, only half-meaning the sarcasm. 

“And then,” Izuki continued, “he asks him to go out. And his friend says yes, and then they kiss but there’s no fireworks.” He met Hyuuga’s eyes, playful disapproval on his face. “Why were there no fireworks, Junpei? You know that’s the way to impress a guy, right? Do you not read shoujo manga or what? The first kiss is _always_ accompanied by fireworks.”

“Sorry, your Highness. I’ll make sure there are fireworks next time,” Hyuuga replied jokingly.

“You’d better,” Izuki answered, poking his chest and kissing him gently. “Come on, let’s go.” 

And the unexpected couple left the gym, smiling stupidly at each other and holding hands all the way home.

_This is something like a movie and I don’t know how it ends._

_But I fell in love with my best friend._

**Author's Note:**

> The last lines are from the song 'Best Friend' mentioned in the first note. It's a really sweet song and served as my writing music for this - I strongly suggest listening to it!  
> Hyuuga and Izuki have a bond that is untouchable. Despite Kiyoshi being one of Hyuuga's close friends, I feel like Hyuuga and Izuki are together on a different level. Izuki knows who Hyuuga is - and I think that by not forcing him back into basketball, by letting him take his time, Izuki did the right thing. Because see, forcing someone to do something they're angry at never works out well. Izuki, in that respect, knows Hyuuga better than Kiyoshi.  
> I don't discount the bond that Hyuuga and Kiyoshi have. I love their brOTP and even ship them, hell! (Damn me for it as a HyuuIzu stan, but I do. Just a bit.) But they can't touch Hyuuga and Izuki. Hyuuga knows how to get Izuki serious and he knows Izuki's intense passion for the game. They are truly made for each other - the rough captain and his smooth best friend. *chef kiss*


End file.
